Silence, please!

And the reason she’s determined to keep mum is to raise £1,000 for the charity’s trauma service which supports children and young people who have been bereaved through suicide, murder or road traffic death or who are suffering post-traumatic stress.

Normally warm and chatty, Dawn is determined to prove to nay-sayers that she’s quite capable of going the distance without so much as a whisper.

“I’ve been practising daily and have I’m up to eight minutes already!” she said. “Now I’m getting stick from people keen to bet on the first words out of my mouth at the end.”

> To sponsor Dawn go to www.justgiving.com/Dawn-Hewitt1